Brookline's The Fireplace closing at end of year; Pepe's Pizzeria moving in

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Brookline TAB

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Posted Jul. 29, 2014 at 1:08 PM
Updated Jul 30, 2014 at 9:25 AM

Posted Jul. 29, 2014 at 1:08 PM
Updated Jul 30, 2014 at 9:25 AM

» Social News

After 13 years in Washington Square, The Fireplace, a favorite haunt for locavores, will be moving aside to make way for New Haven, Conn., pizza institution Frank Pepe’s.

Fireplace owner/chef Jim Solomon said he’s transferring his restaurant at the end of this year to focus on his catering business.

“Catering is really just growing by leaps and bounds, and we’ve done it for 13 years, but it’s really taken off over the past five years, and the last two years it’s gotten so hot,” Solomon told the TAB. “It’s difficult to manage the restaurant and catering at the same time.”

Pepe’s will take over The Fireplace’s liquor license and lease.

A representative from Pepe’s did not return the TAB’s requests for comment.

Solomon said he hadn’t actively been looking to give up the restaurant, but his cousin, who works as a consultant for Pepe’s Pizzeria, came by for a visit and loved the space, Solomon said. Pepe’s was already looking to open a store on Lower Beacon Street, in the former Beacon Street Tavern, but decided the Washington Square spot worked better, he said.

The Fireplace’s last day as a restaurant will be Dec. 31, when Solomon said he will host a goodbye New Year’s Eve bash.

In an email to Fireplace customers sent Tuesday, July 29, Solomon wrote, “As a resident of Washington Square, there are not many restaurants that I would be comfortable turning our space over to, but it is a dream to transfer our lease to Pepe’s to let them build a new tradition here, and for them to introduce their outstanding product to Bostonians. I will be a frequent customer.”

Solomon, who was born in New Haven, said he grew up eating Pepe’s when he would go back to visit his grandparents. While he was dating his now-wife, he said he used a few of his favorite restaurants to test their long-term potential, and Pepe’s was on the list.

“She really just loved it, so I knew she was my kind of gal,” Solomon said.

Frank Pepe Pizzeria was founded in New Haven in 1925, and has over the years grown into one of the most well-known and highly rated pizza restaurants in the Northeast, if not the country, with several locations throughout Connecticut and one in Yonkers, N.Y. According to the pizzeria’s website, Pepe’s originated the “New Haven-style thin crust pizza,” which was baked in an oven fueled by coke, a coal byproduct. Since the 1960s, when coke became unavailable, Pepe’s pizza has been baked using coal, according to the website.

Page 2 of 2 - Perhaps somewhat ironically, Pepe’s coal-fired pizza will be taking over for a restaurant certified by the Green Restaurant Association. Solomon said unlike the lease and liquor license, The Fireplace’s green certification would not be transferring to Pepe’s.

Solomon said he’s looking at leasing a temporary spot in Brookline to house the catering business for a year or so, then he’ll try to find something permanent. He declined to say where in Brookline the caterers would be based, since the deal is not finalized.

The Fireplace caters weddings, corporate events and other high-end parties. Solomon said he’s known for doing theme parties with a historical bent – something he brought to his restaurant with events like the annual Valentine’s Day “John and Abigail Adams Love Letters” dinner.

This summer he’s got a “Downton Abbey”-themed gala planned, for which he’s researching the last meal on the Titanic, as well as a party in the style of the golden era of Hollywood.